What you’re missing out on if you are not selling to Poland and CEE with Allegro

The e-commerce market in Central and Eastern Europe is expanding rapidly thanks to rising consumer incomes and a vibrant digital landscape, with Poland acting as a European hub for IT services and logistics. This unique pairing makes Poland a gateway to the CEE’s e-commerce market. 

E-commerce trends in Poland 

The Polish e-commerce market value in 2021 accounted for 92 billion PLN. By 2027, it is expected to double, reaching 187 billion PLN. Local consumers are eager to buy more and more frequently online: 30 M of Poles are Internet users and 77% of them shop online. According to the Mediapanel study from June 2022, 92% of Polish Internet users visited at least one website or launched an application from the “Online Shopping'' category that month. The vast majority used both marketplace platforms and online specialty stores. They strongly prefer domestic brands (75%) and the vast majority chooses marketplaces. Poles like combining different approaches, but one trend is becoming particularly visible – the growing role of e-commerce platforms. The marketplace share in Polish e-commerce is expected to grow from 45% in 2021 to more than 55% by 2027. 

Allegro is the most popular B2C marketplace in Poland with 250 million offers in 14 product categories. In Poland, more people start looking for products on Allegro (30% of all online buyers start on Allegro) than on Google (18% of online buyers), which makes it the most popular e-commerce channel in the country. Allegro is the 10th most popular marketplace in the world, currently expanding to 5 more countries in Central and Eastern Europe: the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia. International delivery to 24 EU countries is also available.

Why expanding with a marketplace is a good idea

Marketplaces provide direct access to a large base of digital consumers. On Allegro, this means 22 M visitors every month in Poland alone — traffic sellers can utilize instantly. What’s more, if a platform covers multiple countries, sellers can address more markets than those with just DTC channels, all within the same marketplace. It is easier to overcome cross-border entry barriers through a platform that has already built trust between sellers and local buyers. And in Poland the Allegro marketplace is the most recognized online store for 87% Poles. 

There are low or no entry barriers and no infrastructure investment needed, so merchants can easily test their products on new markets. All IT and payment solutions are already implemented, and many marketplaces, including Allegro, provide fulfillment services. Businesses can thus scale up from the get-go if the offer is well received. Otherwise, such testing generates low costs. Sellers can also reach different customer groups and adjust their product offering in each channel depending on customers’ needs to optimize general sales. Optimizing sales is made easier thanks to a variety of sales management tools that help adjust the assortment, set prizes or watch competitors. On top of that, sellers get access to multiple educational resources and support teams that help them understand the dynamics of the marketplace and grow their sales successfully. 

Let’s not forget about advertising. The big advantage of marketplace advertising is first-party data based on millions of logged-in users’ accounts. This means direct access to 100% behavioral and transactional data that is "bulletproof" from the perspective of legal regulations and restrictions on cookies. 

Unique opportunities for international sellers 

The Polish e-commerce market has enormous growth potential, and consumers’ attitude toward online shopping offers countless opportunities. In order to access this market, merchants should pay close attention to some unique buyers’ behaviors. Polish consumers strongly prefer trusted domestic brands and marketplaces, with Allegro being the most popular e-shopping platform in the country. Expanding to CEE with such a marketplace brings multiple benefits: large base of consumers and already existing traffic, support with overcoming cross-border barriers of entry, ready infrastructure and partnerships, as well as a variety of educational resources, promotion and sales management tools to facilitate growth. With the marketplace share growing each year, increasing consumer incomes, and younger generations entering the market, the interest in products offered by international sellers will grow in the foreseeable future. Approaching consumers on their most favorite marketplace will open the door not only to the big e-commerce market in Poland but also to further expansion in Central and Eastern Europe. 

If you would like to find out more about Allegro, you can do so by using this form. To register the account and sell on the marketplace, click here. 

* This blog was written by Emilia Gregorczyk, Business Development Manager at Allegro. Visit Allegro at the Marketplace Conference 2023 where they will answer all your marketplace questions. For more information about the event and tickets: marketplaceconference.nl.